Emmanuel Deebom, police public relations officer in Benue, confirmed the mishap at a news conference in Makurdi, capital of the state.

He said the boat was carrying people from Guma to Makurdi at night when the accident occurred.

Deebom said 18 of the dead were herdsmen while the other two victims were crew members of the boat, and nine corpses had been recovered by the state police.

Deebom said the cause of the accident had not been determined but he suspected harsh current would be the curse.

Eyewitness said that the boat was overloaded, accusing boat owners of over pressing the ill-fated vessel, which was only designed with a capacity of 12.